China Shaken by Typhoons, Corruption; Isolated Amid US Containment

Trade, tariffs, and artificial intelligence (AI) control are expected to be major agenda items.

However, as the US exhausts its policy momentum on various fronts, its containment policy against China faces uncertainty.

In particular, US economic sanctions against Iran are difficult to implement effectively without China's cooperation.

This expansion of fronts potentially weakens the US's diplomatic capacity to contain China.

However, with China's growing international influence, the US finds itself in a corner.

Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the US's stance on containing China will be mere lip service or lead to sustained policies.

Japan appears to have taken these measures with the aim of strengthening its response capabilities to its security lifelines, such as the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

It became the basis for reorganizing Japan's defense capabilities and self-defense forces, which were at a dismantling level.

China has maintained an assertive stance, considering even waters more than 1,000 km from its coast as part of the South China Sea.

China's attitude of criticizing Japan despite having caused Japan's changes itself is contradictory.

As US vigilance against China intensified, a clear trend of international realignment emerged. Japan was the quickest to jump on this bandwagon, based on its solid alliance with the US.

This should be interpreted not as a one-time arms purchase or intelligence enhancement, but in the overall context of shifts in international political power.

It is a crucial time for South Korea's strategic choices before this bloc formation becomes entrenched.

South Korea faces a situation where its diplomatic room for maneuver is limited due to its high economic dependence on China.

In China's past regional military district system, military administration intervened in local administrative and political systems, leading to problems of degenerating into local powers (local magnates). This could lead to abuses such as the regional warlordism caused by jiedushi during the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty.

Such a structure showed limitations focused on regional defense rather than an efficient central command system during wartime.

Serious military procurement scandals, such as filling rocket liquid fuel with water, continue to occur.

Despite Chairman Xi Jinping's extensive purges, questions about the Chinese military's combat capability persist. The inefficiency of military deployment during the recent southern floods further highlighted these problems.

Chairman Xi Jinping also purged Ma Xingrui, a Politburo member who was a close aide and former aerospace engineer, on corruption charges. Ma Xingrui was accused of involvement in Evergrande Group's real estate interests and benefiting from entertainment at its headquarters.

This reflects Xi Jinping's governing style, which emphasizes moral norms, and demonstrates his unwavering will to fight corruption, even for key power figures.

Along with this, asset forfeiture and a fine of 3 trillion won were imposed.

This is interpreted as the Chinese government sending a strong warning against real estate speculation, demonstrating the corporate operation in the form of a Ponzi scheme and the supreme leader Xi Jinping's will to strengthen real estate regulations.

Here, entertainment, including 'joy brigades' for officials, took place.

The Ahfang Palace was a symbolic place of bribery and political-business collusion in exchange for development rights, and it was used as an important channel for funding Ponzi schemes through corruption.

In particular, drinking and dining are important ways in which deals and negotiations are conducted in China.

The word 'sujak (酬酌)' originally referred to the act of exchanging drinks, but its meaning has changed and is also used in modern times.

It is common for young women, high-end alcohol, and delicacies to be mobilized to form guanxi.

Such clandestine transactions act as essential elements in the Chinese economic system.

The large fluctuations in rainfall and drought cause recurrent large-scale disasters, such as the flooding of the Yellow River.

The public criticizes the government for being powerless in disaster response despite an annual defense budget of approximately 400 trillion won.

This raises serious questions about the military's efficiency and disaster response capabilities.

Such corruption degrades the quality of infrastructure construction and deepens distrust throughout society.

However, imposing only temporary pressure without a phased response led to side effects, resulting in market collapse.

Critics point out that Xi Jinping's bold and direct decision-making style exacerbated market confusion rather than solving problems.